Virtual switching and VM networking
Understand virtual switches and bridges, VLAN tagging, NIC bonding and traffic separation well enough to design and troubleshoot hypervisor networks.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 50 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Trace a VM's VLAN from its virtual NIC through the host bridge to the physical switch
- Choose a bonding mode and explain what it can and can't do for one flow
- Separate management, VM, storage and migration traffic
- Diagnose duplicate MACs, MTU mismatches and noisy neighbors
Course outline
- 1.Virtual switching and VM networkingVideo · 2 min
- 2.Bridges, tags and bondsLesson · 20 min
- 3.Separating traffic and finding noisy neighborsLesson · 20 min
- 4.Troubleshooting a VM that can't reach the networkLesson · 20 min
- 5.Virtual switching and VM networking: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 21 questions
- 6.Everything on HV-02 is slowScenario
- 7.Final exam7 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- IEEE 802.1Q (VLAN tagging) and IEEE 802.1AX (link aggregation / LACP)
- Linux bonding driver documentation (kernel.org)
- RFC 7348: Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network (VXLAN)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.